According to last week's report published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics the ACT has recorded a spike of 33% in victimisation rates for family and domestic violence from 2015 to 2016.

ACT Family Safety coordinator-general Jo Wood said, "We know there's a large amount of under reporting ... a lot of women have never reported or told anyone before. People used to think this was a private issue, but now its really clear that its a crime."The ACT government announced a multi-million dollar package last year to tackle the issue in the territory including greater resources for frontline staff and the creation of a dedicated Family Safety Hub.While the ACT still has a lower family and domestic violence rate compared to other jurisdictions, ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner John Hinchey said the reported spike reinforced the urgency to continue to develop new and effective ways of supporting victims and protecting their safety, while also holding people who use violence to account.Mr Hinchey said improving current data sources, adding new data sources, and linking data would help work on a national plan to reduce violence against women and their children.

This is an extract from an article written by Michael Inman in The Brisbane Times here.

​impact acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People as the First Peoples of Australia,the traditional owners of the lands and waters throughout Australia.​As such, we recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and communityand we pay our respects to their peoples, their cultures and to their elders past, present and emerging.